Saturday, January 30, 2010

The Beauty of Buttons

Susan is one of our dear customers at Our Cottage Garden. A while back, she shared some of her incredible hand painted button collection with us and I asked her if she would do a guest post for me about her love of these magnificent little pieces of artwork. Susan is a dealer of fine porcelain on Ruby Lane and her beautiful wares can be found here. She graciously agreed and her thoughts are below. Enjoy swooning over the pictures on this lovely Pink Saturday and when you are able to catch your breath again, pop on over to Bev's, our hostess with the mostess and visit some of the 167 other Pink Saturday participants.

I am fairly new at collecting antique items; I started about 12 years ago collecting pottery. I loved the warm feel and the individuality of each piece. But when I bought my first piece of hand painted Limoges porcelain – I was hooked. I became a P.A. – Porcelain Addict! I rapidly sought to fit in some antique display cabinets in a rather small house that was already over loaded with furniture. A few select deletions, and I had found a space here to fit in a cabinet and a space there to store my ever growing collection of Limoges. When we had our kitchen remodeled, I added 3 display cabinets to the plan – who cares about food storage when you can look at all that beauty! One of my favorite items over the years have been collecting hand painted Limoges baskets. They range from dainty to huge; and since many of them are not painted much on the inside, lend themselves very well to filling up with buttons or pins. I have about 4 baskets now that are filled with buttons and one fruit bowl that is gradually being filled with pins or brooches. My major source of purchasing these beauties is from Our Cottage Garden – a wonderful online site that is beautifully organized and filled with treasures. I take pleasure every day in viewing my lovely pieces and appreciating the individual work that each artist put into his or her expression of beauty.

I could not resist visiting a blog with the name French Laundry. (tee hee:) How fun. I enjoyed the beautiful porcelain limoges especially with the coordinating colors of both limoges and porcelain baskets.

". . . who cares about food storage when you can look at all that beauty!" Haha! Love it. Thank you for the smiles.

What a fabulous post ~ I enjoyed seeing the wonderful collection of limoges buttons and the baskets they are displayed in.Very pretty and thanks for sharing and for Susan, sharing her story.I laughed with the P.A~ Porcelain Addict.

What a gorgeous collection of baskets and buttons. I have never even seen any of these and I truly stalk the vintage shops. I love the way you have them organized by color. Thanks for sharing I will start looking out for them...and I will to on the Garden Cottage site when I have time.Carla

I ♥ to come here on Pink Saturday. Your blog is always so sweet and comforting. Cold and gloomy winter up here this year so Pink Saturday is one day I can always count on for a little pink ray of sunshine.

Can you imagine the clothing those buttons were on? Oh mylanta...to have such a beautiful collection. That truly is something to be passionate over. Some times we forget, there are "real" antiques still being bought and collected. I love this!Debbie

Oh my gosh I didn't know such beauties existed!Ouuuuuu I want to touch them and play with them...can you imagine having a blouse or jacket with such beautiful buttons! Ouyyyyyy I will be searching for some for my self now!

Hi Judy! I think this might be my first visit to your site. I'm so glad I did. I collect vintage buttons, but I've never seen anything so beautiful. I can see why you treasure them! Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful collection and for stopping by to see me. I'm putting up a post tomorrow, but unfortunately, I didn't notify Beverly in time. Have a great week! Terri

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A BIT ABOUT ME

I am a wife, mother, mosaic artist, microbiologist,antique dealer,and gypsy soul living in the beautiful state of Colorado. My life keeps me busy, but happy.
My sons entertain and inspire me with their energy and joie de vivre. Sometimes, being a middle aged mom, they wear me out, but I've never regretted one moment we've been together.
In 2004, my son, who was 4 at the time, was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. He had to undergo over 3 years of chemotherapy to get better. I'm happy to report that he is doing well, but the experience was life changing. I realized that "someday" is a luxury that not everyone will get to enjoy. So, with a new paradigm, I have embarked upon the artistic journey that I dreamed of doing SOMEDAY. I love making mosaic art, selling antiques, and dreaming of that beautiful, antique, French inspired space, with lots of glamour, grace, and, of course, a healthy dose of Legos on the floor along with a little Army man or two. This is, after all, reality! Live your dream, but keep it real.